PICK A TRAIN, ANY TRAIN - All Aboard: The Complete North American Train Travel Guide - page 294

En route from Los Angeles to Chicago, Amtrak's train 4, the Southwest Chief, climbs
through a narrow canyon toward Raton Pass, which is where it will cross the Continental
Divide and head into Colorado. Photo courtesy of Amtrak
During much of the year, someone from the New Mexico Histor-
ical Society boards the train here and in the lounge car provides
commentary about the history and geology of the area all the
way to Gallup. (Volunteers do the same thing on the eastbound
train.) The Chief gets to Flagstaff around 9:00 P.M. If you're mak-
ing a side trip to the Grand Canyon, this is where you'll transfer
to a connecting bus. You can also stay aboard for another half
hour and get off at Williams Junction, where the next morning
you can catch the Grand Canyon Railway to the South Rim. Oth-
erwise, you'll probably sleep through all of Arizona, waking up
in time for a leisurely arrival into Los Angeles.